Tho' much of England has a system of comprehensive secondary schools catering for pupils of all abilities, there are some counties and London boroughs that have maintained 'selective' education where children are tested at age 10/11 to identify those deemed 'more able' who are eligible for places in 'grammar schools'. The tests that children are put through are known as the '11 Plus' and in most areas they involve a mix of papers covering maths, 'non-verbal reasoning' (IQ) and English; the latter often in the form of 'verbal reasoning'. We mention this because Lost 4 Words from Seesaw Games and the Happy Puzzle Company is essentially a gamified version of one of the standard components of these verbal reasoning tests.
Lost 4 Words comprises a set of 500 cards, a peg score board and a compact 60-second sand timer. The cards all contain four words on one side; the challenge being to find the word that can be added to the front or end of all four words to create another word. One player holds the card (which has the answer on the back) and the other player or team of players tries to get through as many cards as they can before the 60-second sand timer runs out. You can pass if you'e stumped by a card; sensible given that you're up against a timer. You move your peg along the scoreboard to represent the number of cards you've correctly answered. Roles are switched and the game continues until a player or team reaches the finishing line of 15 on the scoreboard, but with the proviso that all the players/teams should have an equal number of turns at answering.
Lost 4 Words makes for an entertaining filler-length dinner party game. Given its similarity to 11-Plus verbal reasoning tests, the 10+ age-range on the box is appropriate but that doesn't mean that adults will find the challenge easy! We were just surprised that the publishers describe Lost 4 Words as a game for 2-4 players; if you're playing as a team game there's no reason why you can't play with much larger teams of players. And if you're living in an area that still operates 11-Plus selection, Lost 4 Words offers a fun way for your kids to prep for the verbal reasoning test.